Method of harvesting grain



April 25, 1933. G. INNES 1,905,409

METHOD OF HARVESTING GRAIN Filed Feb. 20,1929 3 Sfieets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Y

ATTORNEYS.

April 25, 1933. G. INNES METHOD OF HARVESTING GRAIN INVENTOR.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 20, 1929 A TTORNEYS.

April 25, 1933. M58 1,905,409

METHOD OF HARVESTING GRAIN Filed Feb. 20, 1929 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS.

Patented Apr. 25, 1933 umTEo'srA-r enosaen runes, or DAVE-Kroner, IOWA, itssrenon '20 minus M PANY, or Barren-near, IOWA, A oonroanrron or nnriawann METHOD or nanvns'rrne GRAIN Application filed February 20, 1929. Serial No. 341,393.

This invention relates to a method of and apparatus for harvesting grain and more particularly to a method of and apparatus for cutting off the heads of the grain anddeliver ing the same in windrows for curing prior to the threshing operation. c

.The method of harvesting with acombined harvester and thresher in which the heads of grain are delivered directly from a header to a threshing machine travelling therewith is far from satisfactory for the reason that in most cases a considerable proportion of the heads of grain will not be properly cured and the threshed grain is consequently of inferior quality. Furthermore, when the kernels of" grain are not properly cured, it is difficult to avoid spoilage of the grain by heating and moulding when stored in bulk,

It has been proposed to deposit the heads from the heading machine in windrows across the field and after the grain has had time to cure, to thresh the grain in a thresh: ing machine which travels along the windrows gathering and threshing the heads of grain. This method, however, except in fields in which the straw is short offers serious dithculties.

If the stalks of straw are out near the'heads or at half their length, the stubble is then so flexible that it collapses allowing. the windrow to come close to the ground, whereasthe stubble should remain erect, and thus provide a ventilating spacebeneath. c If, in order to provide .a stiff stubble,ithe. stalks of straw arecut close to the ground,

then the volume of heads and straw make so thick :1 windrow as to prevent proper curing, also this excessive bulk prevents proper threshing as the threshing unit of the combined harvester-thresher is designed for heads only. Also, the greater weight of the bulk of heads and straw causes even the short stubble to be pressed down and thus prevent ventilation from beneath and the moisture from the earth passes up into theWv-indrow and causes the windrow to become more damp than when made. This causes the grain to deteriorate and sometimes mold.

The present invention has for its object to p v a methoclof harve t g y whi h. the

grain may be effectively cured in windrows regardless of the height of the standing grain in the field being harvested. v 1

A further object is to provide a method by which the windrowsof grain: heads are supported clear ofthe ground sothat air-may circulate freely through and beneath the wmdrow to cure the grain and so that the gram may be easily picked up and-delivered to thethreshing machine.

A further object is to, so position the windrows that the harvesting machineand the tractor or draft animalscpulling themachme may make the turns at the corners of the field without disturbing previously formed windrows. I v i -,A further object is to provide a machine which has a main cutter unit which'cuts Iofi the heads of grain and delivers Lthem laterally from the machine into a windrow and a secondary cutter which cuts afswath inithe' standing straw left/by the main cutter and auuraorunrne' core. t v

clears a pathway of stubble to receive :a I

windrow of grain heads from the machine.- A further object isto provide'a machine in which both the main andlauxiliary cutter unlts are vertically adjustable to out 'ofi'it'he heads and the standing straw'at the'propler heights from the ground to obtain heads of the desired length and stubble of the properlength to receive and supportlthe windows of heads. 7 With the above and other objects in view, the invention may be'saidto'comprise the; method and machine as illustrated in the accompanying drawings hereinafter ides scribed and particularlywseflforth in theappended claims, together with such variations and modifications thereof'as will be apparent to oneskilled in the art to which the inven tion appertains. 5 Y t a Reference should behad to the accompanying drawings forming a part"of'tliis-specifia cationin whichr' i i Figure 1 isaplan view of a machine de signed to perform thein'ethod of the present inventiom 7 .i J" 3 a Fig.2 is a side elevation of the machinei? Fig.3 is a section taken on the line indis cated at 3:13. 1 F gl I generally by the reference numeral 1 which is supported on an elongated axle 2 rigidly and nonrotatably secured to the frame 1. Rotatably mounted on one end of the axle, there is a bull Wheel 3 and rotatably mounted on the axle at the opposite end, there is a grain wheel 4. The frame 1 has a forwardly projecting portion 5 at the end thereof suported by the bull wheel and this projection orms a tongue for attachment to a tractor 6 by which the machine may be drawn.

The machine is provided with a main cutter unit 7 which extends nearly the full width of the machine and serves to cut off the heads of the grain and deliver the same laterally to one side of the machine. The machine also has an auxiliary cutting unit 8 which is positioned rearwardly of the main cutter unit 7 which is shorter than the cutter unit 7 and which serves to cut a swath in the standing straw left by the main cutter unit 7." The secondary cutter unit 8 is so positioned with respect to the main cutter unit-7 that it provides a pathway of relatively short stubble so disposed with respect to the swath cut by the main cutter or heading unit 7 that upon the next passage of the machine across the field, it will receive the windrowof grain heads out and delivered by the main cutting unit. I

- The main cutting unit 7 comprises the serrated fixed cutter bar 9, in which the reciprocating sickle is slidably mounted. togethcr with an endless belt conveyor 10 which projects past the cutter'bar at one end to deliver the heads at one side of the machine. The cutting element is also provided with a reel 11 carried by a shaftlla directly over the cutter bar so that the blades of the reel will sweep the heads asthey are severed by the cutter onto the conveyor belt.

a The sickle 9a is driven from the bull wheel 3 by mechanism which will now be described A sprocket wheel 12 is attached to the outer side of the bull wheel and drives a second sprocket 13 through a sprocket chain 14.

The sprocket 13 is fixed to a shaft 15 mounted in the frame 1 rearwardly of the bull wheel 3 and this shaft has fixed thereto inwardly of the bull wheel a double bevel gear 16, one face of which meshes with a small bevel gear 17 carried by the forward section of a sectional and extensible shaft 18. The

e r sect n of th a t 18: $9 which, the bev unit. The intermediate section 18 composed of two sections is joined by a coupling sleeve 22 with which one of the sections is telescopically engaged. The universal couplings 20 and 21 and thecoupling sleeves 22 permit the cutter unitto be adjusted vertically without disturbing the :driving connections through the shaft 18. The forward section 18?) of the shaft is journaled in a bearing bracket 23 mounted on thecutter'frame and is'provided with a crank portion 24 which is connected by a pitman 25 to the reciprocating cutter.

Forwardly of the crank'portio'n, the shaft 18?) is ou'rnaled in a bearing 26 and has fixed thereto a sprocket 27 which drives the sprocket chain 28, which runs over the sprocket 27 and over a sprocket 29 fixed to a short shaft 30 which has fixed thereto a bevel'gear 31 meshing-with a bevel gear 32 fixed to the reel shaft 1160, so that the reel 11 is continuously rotated by the above described gearing from the shaft 18 simultaneously with the reciprocation of the sickle.

The conveyor 10 is also driven from the shaft 15 through'a sprocket 33 fixed to the inner end of the shaft-15 which drives a sprocket chain 34 which extends over the sprocket 33 and a double sprocket 35 rotatably mounted on the axle 2, and held against longitudinal movement on the axle by means of collars 36 fixed to the axle on opposite sides thereof. A sprocket chain 37 extends from the double sprocket 35 to a sprocket 38 fixed to a shaft 39 journaled in the conveyor frame and the shaft 39 carries a bevel gear-4O which meshes with the bevel gear 41 carried by the drive shaft 10a of the conveyor.

The main cutter'unit is adjustably supported by arms 42 pivoted at their rear ends to the axle, extending forwardly and *up- Wardly from the axle and pivoted at their forward ends to the frame of the cutter unit.

The,pivots connecting the forward ends of the arms 42 to the frame of the conveyor unit are axially alined and each of the arms 42 is provided with an integral lever 43 extending rearwardly from the axle, each lever 43 carryinga manually operable detent 44 which is engageablewith a rigid segment 45 fixed to the axle. .By releasing the de tents 45, the operator mayv adjust the cutting unitup and down by means'of the levers 43 and in order to assist in the adjustment of the cutter unit, rearwardly converging arms 46 are pivoted tothe frame of the cutting unit and ex nd. rearwardly over the axle a d I ends thereof.

The arms 46 fulcrum on the axle and the counterweight'dT counterbalanees the cutter unit so that it may be easily moved up or down by means of the levers 43. In order to maintain the cutter unit- 7 in operative position, bracing links 48 are connected at their lower ends to the axle and at their upper ends to the frame of the cutting unit at points considerably above the connection of the arms 42 thereto so that the conveyor 10 is maintained in approximately a horizontal position in all positions of vertical adjustment.

A secondary cutting unit isprovided with a stationary cutter bar 49 and a reciprocathave a counterweight 47 attached to the rear 'ing sickle 49a substantially identical with the sickle of the main unit and is provided with a conveyor belt 50 which is somewhat shorter than the cutter bar and which serves to cleliver the straw at one side of the swath cut by the sickle.

The secondary cutter may also be provided with a reel 51 mounted on a shaft 51a andoperating in the same manner as the reel 11 of the main cutter bar to sweep the severed stalks of straw onto the conveyor belt 50. In view of the construction of the auxiliary or secondary cutter, the reel for this may be omitted if desired. The reciprocating sickle 49a of the secondary cutting unit is driven from the double bevel gear 16, the inner face of which meshes with a small bevel gear 52 on a shaft 53 journaled in the frame 1 and in a bearing 54 suspended from the axle 2. The shaft 53 drives a shaft 55 which has a crank arm 56, the shaft 55 being driven from the shaft 53 through a clutch 57 which is controlled by a shifter lever 58. The crank arm 56 is connected by a pitman 59 with an extension 60 of the movable sickle 49a.

The reel 51 of the secondary unit is driven from the grain wheel 4 through a sprocket 61 carried by the grain Wheel 4 and a sprocketchain 62 running over the sprocket 61 and over a sprocket 63 attached to the shaft 51a of the reel. 6

The conveyor of the secondary unit is also driven from the grain wheel 4 through a bevel gear 64 attached to the wheel. A bevel gear 65 meshes with the gear 64: mounted on a short shaft 66 j ournaled in a bearing bracket 67 fixed to the axle and having attached thereto a sprocket 68 which drives a sprocket chain 69 rimming over a sprocket 70 fixed to the drive shaft 50a of the conveyor 50.

The secondary cutting unit is also adjustably mounted and is supported from the axle by means of arms 71 which extend forwardly from sleeves 72 rotatably mounted on the axle. The arms 71 are pivoted at their forward ends to the ends of the reel shaft 51a and the rear side of the unit is supported by arms 7 5 extending downwardly from the sleeves 72 and pivoted to the rear edge of the conveyor frame. The sleeves 72 maybe adjusted on the axle 2 to raise and lower the secondary cutting-unit bymeans of rearwardly extending lever arms 76 integral with or fixed to the sleeves and the sleeves are held in adjusted positions by means of manually operable detents 77 which are carried by the lever arms and engage with ratchet segments 78 fixed to the axle 2.

: lVhere the stand of gr-a in is quite low, the main cuttingunit 7 may be adjusted to approximately the same level as the auxiliary cutter and means isq irovided for automatically discontinuing the operation of the auxiliary cutter when the main cutter is lowered to a position near that of the auxiliary cutter. As shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings, the clutch shifter lever 58 projects beneath the supporting arm 42 at the end of thecutting unit adjacent-the bull. wheel and when this arm is lowered into engagement with the lever 58 the lever is moves downwardlyin opposition to the spring 83 to disengage the clutch 57 and release the shaft 55 from the shaft 53. l Vhenever the arms 52 are adjusted upwardly to raise the main cutting unit, the clutch lever is released and the clutch is returned to engaging position by the spring 83.

Fig. 4; of the drawings shows the mounting of the secondary cutter bar on the forward side of the conveyor frame. As shown in Fig. 4.. the cutter bar 79 is a fiat bar having its width disposed vertically and forming the front side memberof the conveyor frame proj-ectlng slightly above the top of the conveyor belt and to whichare securedguard teeth 49 which'guardteeth differ from the usualguard teeth inthat-they have a downward projection 80 whichis fastened to the vertically disposed bar 7 The guard teeth 49 have slots 81 within which the sickle 49a slides, which is retained in alinement with the slot by means of a plate 82 attached to the upper edge of. the frame member 79. 1'

There are two purposes in placing the cutter bar 79 in a vertical position. 'One is to give strength and rigidity without excessive weight. The other is that by having a narrow ledge back of the sickle, the lower end of the cut straw falls immediately into the path of the bars of the conveyor and are thus removed from the cutting operation, thereby preventing clogging of the sickle and permitting the reel to be omitted,if desired.

The frame member 79 forms a rigid support for thecutter bar which is, by reason of its angle shape, in itself quite rigid so that accurate alincment of the slots 81 and the teeth of thebar'is maintained and bending of the sickle during operation is prevented.

In the operation of the machine, it is drawn across the fiel y he t a to 6, ettings swath as shown at 85 in Figs. 5 and 6 a short distance below the heads of the grain, leaving the major portion of the stalks standing. At

the same time, the secondary cutter 8 cuts a swath 86 through the standing straw behind the primary cutter of considerably less width than the swath cut by the main cutter and may be positioned anywhere within the swath cut by themain cutter. The straw cut by the auxiliary unit 8 is delivered in a windrow 87 along one side of the swath 86, leaving the major portion of the swath clear of straw so that there is a pathway of standing stubble ready to receive heads of grain delivered from the discharge portion 84 of the conveyor 10 upon the next passage of the machine across the field. After the first cut across the field, the tractor 6 travels in the standing straw b0 the inner side of the swat-h S6 and the discharge portion 8%- of the conveyor delivers onto the pathway of stubble depositing the windrow 88 of heads alongside the WlfidlO-WS 87 of straw. The windrow 88 of heads is entirely clear of the machine so that the tractor and the harvest machine may be turned at the corners of the field without disturbing the windrowof heads. The short stubble upon which the heads are delivered supports the windrow 88 of heads entirely clear of the ground so that there is free eirculation of air beneath the windrow so that the heads will be rapidly cured and the windrow of heads loosely supported on the top of the stubble can be easily gathered by the pickup mechanism of the thresher so that there will be very little loss of grain.

It will be apparent that the present invention provides a simple method of harvesting which enables the grain to be uniformly and thoroughly cured before it is thresh'ed and which enables the heads of grain to be gathered with a minimum loss of grain in the standing stubble.

Furthermore, it will be apparent the cutting and windrowing of the heads is accomplished by means of a machine which is of simple and relatively inexpensive construction.

Furthermore, it is to be understood that the particular form of apparatus shown and described, and the particular procedure set forth, are presented for purposes of explanation and illustration and that various modifications of said apparatus and procedure can be made without departing from my inven tion as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. The herein described method of harvesting grain which consists in severing the heads of grain from the stalks and collecting said heads, cutting swaths through the standing straw to provide pathways of standing stubble, and depositing the severed heads in windrows on the standing stubble along said pathways.

2. The herein described method of harvesting grain which consists in severing the heads of grain from the stalks and collecting said heads, cutting swaths through the standing straw, and depositing the straw and heads in parallel windrows, the latter on the standing stubble left by the second cutting operation. 3. The herein described method of harvestin g grain which consists in cutting the standing grain a shortdistance below the heads and in swaths extending across the field, cutting the standing straw in swaths disposed within the first mentioned swaths, moving the cut straw laterally to leave a cleared pathway of standing stubble, collecting the heads of grain and depositing the same in windrows on the standing stubble along said cleared pathways.

4. Thehcrein. described method of harvestinggrain which consists in cutting the'standing grain a short distance below the heads and in swaths extending across the field, cutting the standing straw in narrower swaths centrally disposed with respect to the first mentioned swaths, and depositing the heads and the straw in parallel windrows, the former on the standing stubble left by the second cutting operation.

The herein described method of harvesting grain which consists in cutting swaths through the standing grain, thereby removing the heads, severing the headless stalks closer to the ground along a given section of said swaths, depositing the'serercd portions of the stalks in windrows atone side of the stubble formed by the severing act, and dcpositing the heads on that part of the stubble from which the stalks have been removed.

In testimony whereof I afiiK my signature.

GEORGE INNES. 

